Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by four wickets in a fiercely contested Women’s Asia Cup Group B fixture at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday to secure a place in the semifinals.
Sri Lanka joins India — champion and runner-up of the previous edition of the tournament in 2024 — as the two teams to qualify for the knockouts so far. A berth each is left to be secured from each group with Pakistan and Bangladesh looking best placed to advance.
The defending champion won the toss and opted to field. Bangladesh’s openers Juairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter began with intent, stitching a brisk 31-run stand. But Sri Lanka found ways to keep the pressure up, with its spinners chipping in. Seventeen-year-old left-arm spinner Chamudi Prabodha was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets giving away just 21 runs in her four-over spell. Sobhana Mostary’s 41-ball 31 was the top effort from Bangladesh as she resisted the run squeeze. Bangladesh’s batting order put up a dismal show otherwise.
Nigar Sultana and Co.’s strengths lie with the ball and the side put up a gutsy fight to defend this subpar total. Sri Lanka was in a spot of bother losing three wickets including skipper Chamari Athapaththu within the PowerPlay. Harshitha Samarawickrama then anchored the chase with contributions from Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshika Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana to get Sri Lanka across the line with four balls to spare.
Published on Sep 06, 2026
